Author's Note: PLEASE READ! Thanks to the suggestion of Annhug, I have entered The Midnight Marauder into a fanfiction contest. The winners have the opportunity to workshop their work for original publication. It occurred to me that many of you must still have alerts set when I post new chapters. So…the new version on inkitt has a few extra bits and pieces that I added while editing it for the contest. Below is one of those excerpts. Please, please, PLEASE go and "like" my story by clicking the heart ( stories/25050). It would mean the world to me. Here's a little tease about the changes in the story: Imaginisa out.
January – First Week Back
Maya bit her lip as she strained to hold the jar steady. The sticky stuff that had once been eye of newt and was now definitely "goop of newt" stuck to the inside and refused to go into the cauldron. It would be more helpful in the cauldron, with the rest of the potion ingredients, so I can get out of here, she thought irritatingly. The smell from too many cauldrons and singed eyebrows was making the underground classroom pretty awful. The smoke had already made two people faint – including Maya's partner, Danni, and leaving her to struggle with the assignment on her own – and there was no end in sight.
A thump on the ground made Maya start and the entire flask of goo fell into the cauldron. There was a worrying bubbling sound and Maya dove to the ground right before the entire thing exploded, leaving a smoldering sludge stuck to the ceiling.
"Merlin's beard!" Exclaimed Professor Slughorn, he gave Maya's handiwork a dubious glance. "My girl, please be careful with the eye of newt! Exactly one eye, my dear!"
"Professor!" Regulus cut off any reply that Maya may have had, "Professor! Crouch fainted."
"Oh dear," said Slughorn, looking at Regulus' partner with a bit of annoyance. "He'll wake up in a moment, the smoke isn't toxic. He may even have some good dreams to share."
Slughorn looked around the room, glanced up at the ceiling where Maya's handiwork was starting to congeal, and said, "Maya, m'dear, would you mind working with Regulus for the last few minutes? I would really prefer for you to have a partner."
"Me, too," said Maya fervently.
She scooted around the remains of her cauldron and went to join Regulus at his table. Regulus have her a small smile.
"What happened there, Night?"He asked, nodding at the disgusting ceiling.
"I think the eye of newt I was using went bad," she huffed.
Regulus smirked a bit, and handed her the ladle. "Here, can you stir?" Maya nodded and got to work. Unlike her questionable potion, his was actually the right consistency – more like stew than wet cement. As the last hour of double potions dragged on – and more and more of their classmates gave up or were sent to the hospital wing (Crouch remained unconscious on the floor) – Regulus and Maya were very much enjoying themselves. They kept up an easy banter not unlike that between James and Sirius that probably looked like they were arguing to the rest of the class but, as they kept winking and nudging each other under the table, it was a lot of fun.
With a finished product that was probably unsafe to drink but actually the right color and smell, the two young wizards left the potions classroom last.
"Wow," said Maya, "You're pretty good at potions then, aren't you?"
"Um...not quite," Regulus admitted.
Maya shot him a questioning look.
"I told someone in my house that we were going to try the 'perfect dreams' potion today," Regulus said, reaching into his bag. "He told me that the instructions for that are awful and gave me some of his notes." Regulus paused on the stairs and passed Maya a slightly crumpled piece of parchment. "Take a look. They're bloody brilliant."
Maya scanned the ingredients and muttered, "Ha. Only half an eye of newt. That makes more sense." She looked back up at Regulus "Who gave them to you?"
"He's a year ahead of us," said Regulus, "Severus Snape."
"I know him!" So as Maya excitedly. "He sat next to me on the train!"
"Really?" Said Regulus. "He's a weird kind of celebrity in my House. He doesn't have that many friends but he knows absolutely everyone and he's pretty brilliant."
"That sound like Sev," Maya agreed.
Regulus grinned and took something out of his pocket.
"What's that?" Maya asked.
"German chocolate," said Regulus, "My mum had it sent to me." He unwrapped the silver foil, took off a sizable chunk and offered it to Maya. "Would you like some?"
Never one to decline sweets, Maya took the offered rectangle. "Sure!" Maya took off a piece and bit into it. A look of surprised ecstasy crossed her face and Regulus actually laughed.
"It's good, isn't it?"
"This is blood brilliant!"
And the Gryffindor and Slytherin sat in the corridor eating chocolate. Each thinking that the others house couldn't be that bad if someone as interesting as their current companion had chosen it.